Cherished
~o~
It was a calm night at Cross Academy; the Night Class was safely wrapped up in their studies and the Day Class (girls) was nestled in their beds. All in all, it was a good night.
If only Yuuki could find Zero.
Sometimes I question his loyalty to the Headmaster's… okay, so he has no loyalty to the Headmaster's ideology, but the least he could do is fulfill his duty as a fellow Guardian! Yuuki's mind and heart was racing as thoughts entwined in her head. I mean, would it kill him to be on time for once? Jeez, the nerve of that Zero Kiryuu!
She knew all – almost all – of Zero's hiding spots, and had checked all but one: the horse barn. He napped alongside the appropriately-nicknamed Horse from Hell, White Lily. Yuuki sometimes felt a little jealous, with how much time he spent with the mare and was so affectionate with her. Stop that! Yuuki smacked her cheeks as she neared the door. He cares about you, too, he just shows it differently.
"Zero, are you in…" she spun around the corner only to nearly fall on a single long leg, outstretched in front of the threshold, the other bent upward toward the ceiling. As Yuuki's eyes gazed further upward, a Day Class jacket was unbuttoned and thrown helplessly across the barn and the top buttons of a white button-down were unbuttoned, exposing a pale, toned chest. Forcing herself to examine the body lying in front of her, she caught sight of a bobbing Adam's apple and a sweat-coated face. Silver bangs covered eyes pinched closed in pain, and teeth gritted as a strangled gasp echoed in the silence of the stable. "Zero…" A nightmare?
Yuuki stepped over Zero's outstretched leg and was careful not to step on or kick anything that might wake him up. But wouldn't it be better if I did? He looks like he's in so much pain… she knelt beside him, brushing his bangs away from his eyes, careful to not touch his skin. Soaked with sweat… what was he dreaming about?
"Y-Yuuki…"
The brunette guardian paused upon hearing her named ground out between his lips, staring into his closed eyes as if demanding entrance into his thoughts. "Zero, I'm right here." Of course, voicing her concern never seemed to work. But maybe this time was different. Maybe…
"Yuu…ki!" this time, Zero's fangs had begun to elongate, piercing his own lip. The girl he called out for fought the urge to shake him awake or caress his cheek, staring mildly in shock and slight concern. Zero, I'm right here! I'll always be here! Her mind yelled in desperation the words she didn't dare say herself for fear of becoming frantic. He called her name out again, and again, and even gasped and grunted as his tattoo glowed red.
Yuuki had had enough. I can't let him suffer like this… I have to wake him up! She reached out and touched his cheek while her other hand shook his arm. "Zero. Zero you need to wake up!" When she got no reaction from the Level D, she puffed out her cheeks and shook him a little harder. "Zero, come on. We have patrol!" Again, no response. What was she going to have to do to wake him up? She looked up at the mare who had lowered her head to watch over her sleeping friend, then flashed dangerous eyes to Yuuki as if saying 'What are you doing touching him?'
Yuuki simply looked up at her with crimson eyes filled with worry. "Oh, Lily, what do I do?"
The horse whinnied and bent her neck forward, tugging gently on Zero's silver strands. Slowly, he woke, lavender eyes cloudy with sleep and swirling with emotion from his nightmare. "What's wrong, Lily?" he looked up to see Yuuki, whose hands were firmly clasped together as if praying. "Yuuki? What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with…" Does he not remember the pain he was in? "…me? I just came to find you, nothing's wrong at all!" Unless he's forcing himself not to. "But, er, are you alright? You looked uncomfortable, almost scared, for a minute there."
His features darkened and he sat up, holding his head and dragging his pale hand through his hair. "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."
Yuuki could've pressed the matter further. Really, she wouldn't have minded it. But she knew her friend would tell her in time, when he was ready to tell her. For now, she'd just be there with silent comfort. Even if he pretended not to know why and what for.
-x-
It wasn't until a week later that the same thing happened again. And again, if memory served her right.
Zero's nightmares were becoming more and more frequent; so frequent that he had to sleep at the Headmaster's villa so that he wouldn't disturb the other boys in the Sun dormitories. The closer she got to him, the more he pushed her away. Was it another one of his "Zero kills Yuuki" nightmares? No, he would've been pulling her close, not pushing her away. What if it was a "Yuuki kills Zero" nightmare, one she'd never even think about let alone perform? No. He knows I'd never ever do that.
So… what was it?
"Yuuki can you help me with dinner, dear?" the cheery voice of her father distracted her from her thoughts, and she looked up from her spot at the dining room table. When she called back that she would in as happy a voice as she could, she pushed herself away from the maple table and, after brushing down her dark skirt and straightening her white button-down blouse before she walked in to join her father. "Oh, thank you! I sent Zero to bed, he had a slight fever and was fairly irritable. Poor boy."
Fever? He hardly ever gets sick… Yuuki's expression immediately was thickly coated with worry. "Sick? Oh, poor Zero…" it was then Yuuki decided to help out enough for the both of them, and she grinned at her father. "I'll do whatever you want! I'll even bring Zero his food, Headma—father!"
The preparations for dinner went swiftly; Yuuki helped peel and slice potatoes and mashing them after, as well as putting the corn bread in and taking it out. At the same time, the Headmaster set the citrus-marinated chicken in the oven and took it out while stirring the green beans on the stove. Dinner was ready in less than an hour, and Yuuki quickly brought out the metal tray and started dishing Zero's dinner before her own. I'm sure he's been cooped up… I didn't see him in classes today… "Alright, here I go!"
The Headmaster's quiet "Good luck, Yuuki!" was almost unheard. Almost.
As she walked down the hall toward his room, the brunette couldn't help but worry and overthink what could be wrong with her partner; she'd known him for almost five years, and there was nothing she couldn't figure out automatically. This, however, was different. This wasn't something she could figure out so easily. He had too many fears.
When she stopped in front of his door, she felt an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion shoot through her. It must be from Zero, she inwardly gasped, and she turned the knob of his door. What she saw, however, almost made her drop the tray of food.
Zero was lying in bed, his head on top of a bent arm. He was facing the wall, but he coughed and gasped like she did when she got a bad case of the flu. She entered slowly and quietly, leaving the door ajar, and placed the tray on his desk. "Zero?" she walked to his bed and sat on the side of it, reaching a hand out and resting it on his shoulder. "Can you maybe eat something?" her voice was timid, almost too quiet to hear, but he turned to face her anyway.
"Y-Yuuki?" his face was paler than usual and a little flushed, his eyes cloudy with his slight fever and his lips dry and cracked. "Wh…at're you…? Yeah, I think so." Slowly – and with Yuuki's help – Zero sat up and held his head in his hands. "So… dizzy."
Yuuki's crimson eyes closed only for a second when she took her hand off his shoulder and gently sat up from his bed. He really is sick… I was partially hoping it was just his thirst; that I know I can fix, but… this…She walked to retrieve the tray and brought it over, getting onto the bed and resting her legs on either side of his, sitting direction in front of him. "I'm sorry you got sick, Zero. I wish I could take-…"
"No," Zero stopped her, pulling his hand away from his face and giving her a small, feverish smile. "It isn't your fault, quit lookin' at me like that." He reached out and ruffled her bangs before his hand shot for his mouth, coughing. The girl in front of him scooted closer and rested her hand on his tattoo, ignoring the stickiness of his sweat and smiling. His lavender eyes looked at her slowly, unfocused, questioning.
Her eyes always provided some sort of safety for him, that whenever he looked deep within them he could feel a protective barrier against his fears. She saved him, in more ways than one, and he couldn't deny that he loved her for it. With the feeling of her hand on his neck, the place that had begun to ache along with his pounding heard and swirling vision, he closed his eyes for a minute and fell forward onto her shoulder. She panicked, just for a moment, before she swiftly pushed the food against the wall and wrapped her arms around his hot head. "It's okay, Zero."
His hands came around her back and held her close, and she could've sworn for a second that he was going to bite her neck. But that small sting never came; only something warm trickled down her shoulder, collar bone, down her shirt. Zero, please don't be…
When the same, unfamiliar sensation was felt again, she wrapped her arms tighter around him. "I'm not going to leave you. Ever, Zero, ever… not even now." Her warm smile was felt through his hair, and he couldn't help but gnash his teeth together the same way he did before he bit her or gave her some other reason to make him believe she hated him. His grip tightened only the slightest bit as the warmth from his body meshed with hers and she was on her knees embracing the boy in front of her. Is that what you dreamt about?
His shy, wavering voice was nearly muffled by her shirt. "Promise?"
Do I pro—Zero, that is what you dreamt about… "I promise. Even if you think I should be afraid of you, I'm going to stay by your side." Her voice oozed reassurance, and his body slowly began to calm, even cooling down the slightest bit. His breathing was no longer staggering and his arms around her had become gentle, loving, affectionate. A soft blush bubbled onto her cheeks, and she lifted his chin up to look into his eyes, watery and clearing up. "Always."
And, for the first time in a very long time, Zero actually felt loved and cherished.
~o~
I am just CHALK-FULL of Zeki one-shots... Not like anyone's complaining, right? :I
Anyway, I'd really like to hear your thoughts. I'm also taking requests as well as plot ideas for RotC's sequel, still Temporarily Untitled. The prologue is ready for upload, just giving it a while longer to write some more of it.
Please review!~
~Cookie
